PM on DOLE’s secret and historic rollback of P85 wage hike

Wage Order No. 28, issued and published by the National Wages and Productivity Commission’s NCR Regional Wage Board today, created more wage confusion rather than hope, the Partido Manggagawa (PM) stated in response. 

 

“Ngayon ay mas maraming dapat ipaliwanag ang nagtatagong Labor Secretary. Ang Wage Order 28 ay historic rollback mula P85 – P60, Sec. Tolentino. Bukod pa sa ito ay sikretong desisyon ng regional wage board na hindi kasali ang manggagawa,” said PM Chairperson Renato Magtubo.

 

Magtubo said the new wage order shames Tolentino to the max as there was no judicious explanation for his retreat other than his kaduwagan (cowardice) against Judge Manongsong.

 

“Nakakahiya dahil nabahag ang buntot ni Tolentino sa harap ni Manongsong kahit napakatibay ng ligal na basehan na dapat ipatupad ng DOLE ang Wage Order 27 sa ilalim ng Labor Code at RA 6727, bukod pa sa nabigo din ang RII Builders at Readycon na mag-post ng P10-B bond para para maging effective ang injunction,” explained the PM leader. 

 

The group likewise insinuated that WO 28 is Malacañang’s compromise position with employers as the Labor Secretary acts only in accordance with the position of his boss, President Marcos, Jr. 

 

The result of this cowardice and compromised executive position: “Nadagdagan ang order, pero nabawasan ang wage.” 

 

It is also historic for NCR to get two wage orders, said Magtubo. “Dalawang wage orders na sa NCR, habang ang mga manggagawa sa ibang regions ay nganga at naghihintay sa wala.”

 

For PM, this is not simply a question of whether P60 or P85 is enough. The bigger problem is the system itself.

 

“Ang presyo ng mga produkto ay deregulated, diretso sa merkado sa lahat ng panig ng bansa. Pero ang sweldo, hindi aplikable sa lahat ng rehiyon at pwede pang pakialaman ng Judge,” said Magtubo. 

 

PM called for a comprehensive reform of the wage-setting system toward a mechanism that guarantees regular, timely and substantial wage increases; progressively eliminates unjustifiable regional wage gaps; and moves toward a national minimum wage based on genuine living wage standards.

 

PRESS RELEASE

Partido Manggagawa

11 September 2026

 

PM TO NWPC: NADAGDAGAN ANG WAGE ORDER, NABAWASAN ANG WAGE—BAGUHIN ANG SISTEMA NG PASAHOD!

As the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) meets today at the Manila Hotel, Partido Manggagawa (PM) challenged the commission and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to confront the glaring failures of the country’s regional wage-setting system.

 

“Wage Orders 27 and 28: nadagdagan ang order, pero nabawasan ang wage. Mula P85, naging P60. Hindi rin malinaw kung tuluyan nang nabura sa kasaysayan ang ‘historic’ na Wage Order ni Tolentino,” said PM Chairperson Renato Magtubo.

 

It is also historic for NCR to get two wage orders. “Dalawang wage orders na sa NCR, habang ang mga manggagawa sa ibang regions ay nganga at naghihintay,” Magtubo added.

 

For PM, this is not simply a question of whether P60 or P85 is enough. The bigger problem is the system itself.

 

The regional wage-setting mechanism, the labor leader pointed out, has produced a patchwork of different minimum wages and different schedules of wage adjustments across the country. Workers face rising prices everywhere, yet their wages depend heavily on where they work and when their regional wage board decides to act.

 

“Hindi regional ang gutom. Hindi regional ang pagtaas ng presyo ng pagkain, kuryente, pamasahe at iba pang pangunahing pangangailangan. Bakit regional at watak-watak ang pagtaas ng sahod?” Magtubo asked.

 

PM said the NWPC should use today’s meeting not simply to manage the confusion created by the issuance of two separate wage orders, but to begin reforming the system itself.

 

More importantly, DOLE should lobby Congress for a legislated wage hike instead of relying solely on another round of fragmented regional wage orders. It should also support pending proposals in Congress to amend the wage-setting law and establish a national minimum wage.

 

“Kung aminado ang gobyerno na kailangang habulin ng sahod ang patuloy na pagtaas ng gastos ng mga manggagawa, dapat suportahan ng DOLE ang legislated wage hike. At kung malinaw nang lumilikha ng hindi makatwirang agwat at pagkaantala ang regional wage system, panahon nang suportahan nito ang national minimum wage,” Magtubo said.

 

PM called for a comprehensive reform of the wage-setting system toward a mechanism that guarantees regular, timely and substantial wage increases; progressively eliminates unjustifiable regional wage gaps; and moves minimum wages toward a genuine living wage.

 

PM also warned against treating successive wage orders as proof that the present system is working.

 

“Kung nadagdagan ang wage order pero lumiit naman ang wage increase, hindi ito resolusyon sa problema. At kung dalawang wage orders na sa NCR habang naghihintay pa rin ang ibang rehiyon, malinaw na may problema talaga ang buong sistema,” Magtubo said.

 

The issue before the NWPC today should therefore go beyond the amount of the next wage increase.

 

The group said a fragmented and unequal regional wage-setting system should not be allowed to continue; thus, the government should support a legislated wage hike and a national minimum wage for Filipino workers. 

Partido Manggagawa

10 September 2026

Workers to Congress: Don’t exploit Middle East crisis to kill wage reform bill

 

Photo from ABS-CBN.com

The Partido Manggagawa (PM) on Wednesday called on the leadership and members of the House of Representatives to stay focused and continue deliberation of the bill abolishing the provincial rate in the face of the escalating military conflict in the Middle East.

 

PM Chair and former partylist representative Renato Magtubo made this call amid fear that the ongoing war could trigger restraint among policymakers, for instance, preventing the enactment of the Kamanggagawa wage reform bill which is awaiting plenary approval at the House of Representatives prior to the outbreak of the Middle East crisis.

 

Local pump prices of oil have started to spike despite the assurance made by the Department of Energy (DoE) that the country has enough inventory. The Philippine peso weakened further since Monday. Prices of agricultural inputs are expected to rise also as more than 80% of fertilizer supply is imported.

 

“Our economic managers, in tandem with capital, are very clever at throwing a monkey-wrench to any wage proposal even under normal conditions. Now they will surely exploit the Middle East crisis to kill the wage reform bill. The House must shield itself from this kind of pressure,” stated Magtubo.

 

Abolishing the provincial rate by establishing a national minimum wage and designating the NCR rate as floor wage is an initial step aimed at rectifying 36 years of injustice under the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), explained Magtubo.

 

“Living wage remains the ultimate ‘regime change’ workers will continue to demand,” added Magtubo.

 

“Nadamay at pinahirapan na nga tayo ng ‘regime change’ project ni Donald Trump at Netanyahu sa Iran. Huwag nang dagdagan pa ang pasaning ito sa pamamagitan ng pagpatay sa panukalang wage reform law,” concluded Magtubo.

PRESS RELEASE

Partido Manggagawa

04 March 2026

Dapat parehong happy--Kapatiran

 

The Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (Kapatiran) finds it unfair seeing the salaries of soldiers and all uniformed service personnel increasing by 15% in the next three years, while workers in the private sector were left stretching a P500 noche-buena package this holiday season.

 

“While Kapatiran is not against raising the salaries of our security personnel, leaving the private sector workers stretching out their current low wages under the same economic condition faced by soldiers’ families is simply unfair,” said Kapatiran Chair Rey Almendras.

 

He added that “Hindi man kayang gawing pantay ang sahod ng manggagawa sa sektor ng seguridad at sektor ng ekonomiya, huwag namang happy ang sa government side kahit may problema sa korapsyon, habang sad ang nasa private sector na ang kaunting wage hike ay saglit lang kinakain ng implasyon.”

 

Kapatiran has been asking for a wage increase for wage recovery of not less than P100 since 2024, both at the regional wage board levels and in Congress for a legislated wage hike.

 

Private sector workers could have been happier if alongside the Palace announcement of a pay hike for soldiers is a Presidential certification to expedite passage of pending legislated wage hike bills.

 

Inflation-adjusted wages were 19.7%-26.1% lower than the current minimum wage in November, according to the latest computations prepared by Business World. In peso terms, the current minimum wage of P695 in NCR has a real value of P546.71 only.

 

Multiplied by 22 days, a private sector worker in NCR receives P15,290 of minimum wage in a month. On the other hand, the basic salary for an entry level member of PNP is P29,668.

 

Yet both live under the same economic conditions and share the same dreams of a joyful celebration of the holiday season.

 

“Kaya naman naming pagkasyahin ang P500 na noche buena, pero ang mas sigurado kami ay DTI family lang ang happy sa diskarteng Pinoy sa larangan ng pagtitipid at pagtitiis,” Almendras concluded. 

 

PRESS RELEASE

9 December 2025

KAPATIRAN

Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa

Wage clustering is better than regionalization but one national minimum wage is best

 

According to Partido Manggagawa (PM), the proposal of Representative Joel R. Chua (3rd District of Manila) to replace the current wage regionalization scheme with a wage clustering system is welcome in the sense that it founded on a recognition of the failures of the existing wage fixing system and thus opens a window for a discussion of a better mechanism. “Wage clustering is better than regionalization but one national minimum wage is best,” Rene Magtubo, PM national chair, explained.

 

He added that “We agree, as Rep. Chua asserts, that wage regionalization has led a huge gap between wages of regions that are not substantiated by differences in cost of living, and also has led to complexity in implementation as the DOLE has to monitor almost 50 minimum wages across the country.”

 

For this reason, PM is pushing for a national minimum wage as a floor. Differences between actual wages should be based on seniority, skills and productivity, according to the group.

 

“Also, while we insist that a replacement to the wage regionalization mechanism is also overdue, let us not lose sight of the immediate demand for a P150 across-the-board legislated wage recovery,” Magtubo emphasized.

 

PM is advocating for an “Apat na Dapat” in regard to the wage issue at the moment:

 

1. Php 150 across the board wage increase to recover wage loss due to inflation (immediate);

 

2. Non-wage benefits to enhance take home pay (for example: suspension of Philhealth contributions, reduction in withholding taxes for fixed income earners, social security subsidies, etc.);

 

3. Review and amend RA 6727 with the end in view of having uniform wage rates and satisfying the constitutional mandate of granting workers a living wage;

 

4. Enhance wage and benefits setting through collective bargaining negotiations by implementing the recommendations of the International Labour Organization’s High-Level Tripartite Mission so that workers can exercise freedom of association without harassment and intimidations, and unwarranted regulations. 

 

Amidst high inflation, labor group renews call for P100 wage hike

 

Photo by OneNews.PH

In reaction to the 3-year high inflation of 4.9% this April, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) reiterated its call for a P100 wage hike. The Philippine Statistics Authority released the inflation rate which is a rapid monthly increase of 0.9% over the previous inflation data for March.

 

“P100 is wage recovery, not a real increase in salaries. From 2018 to the present, real wages have declined by a significant amount of 8%. The rising inflation rate further erodes real wages. The National Wages and Productivity Commission’s own data shows that as of February 2022, the P537 minimum wage in Metro Manila is worth only P494 due to inflation since 2018,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a Marikina councilor.

 

The wage hike was among the demands raised by PM and other worker groups in the nationwide Labor Day activities a few days ago. PM is asking that an emergency session of Congress tackle a legislated wage hike. “The regional wage boards are useless. Instead workers want Congress to pass a law mandating a P100 across-the-board wage increase, even for those receiving salaries above the minimum wage since everyone has been affected by inflation,” asserted Magtubo.

 

He added that “P100 is really not enough to raise minimum wages to the level of the cost of living. Thus, a holistic approach necessitates a cash aid, price discounts and a jobs program in response to the spike in food prices. Families of the unemployed and informal workers should be given a cash assistance of P10,000 a month. In the long-term, support for farmers must be accelerated, food sovereignty must be promoted and land conversion must be stopped. Local programs that connect farmers to consumers and workers’ communities must be encouraged.”

 

The group is also supporting the labor coalition Nagkaisa’s call for an emergency jobs creation program called unemployment support and work assistance guarantee or USWAG. PM and other labor groups coalesced under the Alliance of Labor Leaders for Leni signed a covenant the tandem of Vice President Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan that calls for approximating the living wage and abolishing the system provincial wages.

 

Magtubo explained that “Metro Manila workers last got a minimum wage increase on October 30, 2018, more than three years ago. The most recent wage hike was for Region 2 on February 4, 2020, on the eve of the lockdowns. The worst off are workers in Calabarzon, where most factories are now situated, who last got a minimum wage increase on February 28, 2018. None of the regional wage boards have done anything for the past three years since they are an instrument to cheapen wages.” 

 

May 5, 2022

Dagdag-bawi ang gobyerno sa pagtaas ng sweldo!

 

A wage subsidy and a 4-day work week should complement not replace a wage hike. A complete package of responses includes an across-the-board wage hike for all workers, wage subsidy for MSMEs which cannot afford the pay increase, P10,000 ayuda for informal workers and an expansion of the 4Ps in terms of coverage and benefits for indigents.

 

The P100 that we are proposing is not even a wage hike. It is just wage recovery. Wages have lost their value due to runaway inflation for the past three years! The P100 wage recovery must be across-the-board since all workers have been affected by high food and fuel prices. It must be legislated by Congress when it convenes for a special session to tackle the economic crisis.

 

Why is it that workers are always first to sacrifice during an economic crisis and last (if at all) to benefit during a business boom?

 

A 4-day work week or compresed work week (CWW) without overtime pay is abuse of workers. CWW would be acceptable to workers if overtime pay is provided. More money in the hands of workers means more money to be spent for goods and services (unlike the rich, the working poor consume all their income) and thus would be good for economic recovery.

 

The multiple and intersecting covariate shocks of runaway inflation, supertyphoons and the pandemic is a wake-up call for long-term and transformative solutions. We must fund universal health care. We must shift to renewable energy and create climate jobs. We must support farmers for food sovereignty. We must promote an industrial policy that generates full employment.

Press Statement

March 17, 2022

Salaries of low-paid workers should rise faster than higher waged ones—labor group

Photo from Rappler

In reaction to a report that telecoms and IT jobs got the highest entry-level wages last year, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) stated that salaries of low-paid workers should rise faster than higher waged ones. “This is one way to achieve inclusive growth which is an avowed labor market agenda of the government but is evidently not materializing,” averred Judy Miranda, PM secretary-general.

 

The Jobs Street report revealed that entry-level jobs in telecoms and IT command an average monthly salary of P19,000 to 20,000. “Telco and IT workers deserve those wages and maybe even more. In comparison, the monthly minimum wage in the NCR, which is the highest nationwide, is less than P14,000 and has not risen in three years. In Eastern Visayas, the minimum wage is just above P8,000. This wage disparity in non-agricultural wages is bad for workers and not good for inclusion,” explained Miranda.

 

She added that “We should remember that many workers, many of them women, are paid even less than the minimum. In the NCR, there are 1 million minimum wage earners but more than 800,000 workers paid below the minimum. It is worse nationwide: 2.4 million minimum wage earners but 8 million paid below the minimum. These are numbers culled from the October 2020 data of the Philippine Statistics Authority.”

 

PM is calling for raising the minimum wage through direct wage increases combined with price discounts, social security subsidies and public services provisioning. The group also advocates for the abolition of regional wages and the institution of a national minimum wage.

 

“President Rodrigo Duterte once upon a time promised to end the system of provincial wages. But similar to his betrayal of the end endo pledge, Duterte will end his term with the regional wage system firmly in place to cheapen workers’ wages. In contrast, Vice President Leni Robredo has signed a covenant with labor groups which includes a provision for establishing a national minimum wage and ways to achieve a living wage,” Miranda avowed.

 

“Not only is a national minimum wage rational since cost of living varies little across the country, it is also efficient since dozens of regional and local minimum wages are difficult to enforce,” Miranda argued.

 

PM is signatory to the covenant along with labor centers and federations that have committed to support the tandem of Leni Robredo and Kiko Pangilinan. 

January 27, 2022

“We are still a Republic of Endo under Duterte”—labor group

On the eve of the SONA, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) declared that “After three years of Duterte, we are a Republic of Endo, a Province of China and a puppet of the US.”

PM is participating in the coalition United Workers SONA which will mobilize on tomorrow afternoon. The United Workers SONA coalition will then join up with other broad networks for the United People’s SONA.

“We believe that the reason President Duterte has not signed the SOT bill up to now is the strong lobby of employers for a veto. Should President Duterte surrender to the demand to veto the bill, then he reveals where he stands on the class war between the workers and capitalists on contractualization. A presidential veto will just be another betrayal of his promise to workers,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He added that “But even if the Security of Tenure bill is signed or lapses into law, endo will persist since the legislation is a watered-down version.” Thus the group averred that among workers demands for the forthcoming SONA mobilization is a stronger law to stamp out contractualization.

“Contrary to the wild claim of employers that the security of tenure bill is superfluous because endo has already been ended with DO 173 and EO 51, numerous loopholes allow the proliferation of contractual workers. The security of tenure bill will not end endo and will not stop contractualization because it is a weak version of the proposed law,” Magtubo averred.

In the counter-SONA rally, aside from pushing for an end to endo, workers are also clamoring for a reform of the wage-setting mechanism.

“We welcome the announcement by the Department of Labor and Employment that it will undertake a study on the current wage system in response to the calls to abolish the regional wage boards. Although we fear that powerful lobby by employers will once more scuttle any real reform,” asserted Magtubo.

PM is batting for the abolition of the regional wage boards and its replacement by a National Wage Commission which will fix a national minimum wage based on the cost of living. The group is also calling for the provision of a minimum basic income for workers in the SME sector which is unregulated and exempted from the minimum wage setting.

21 July 2019

Despite SOT bill, endo persists under Duterte

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) stated today that even if the Security of Tenure bill lapses into law, endo will persist since the legislation is a “watered-down version.” Thus the group averred that among workers demands for the forthcoming SONA mobilization is a strong law to stamp out contractualization.

“Three years after President Duterte promised to abolish contractualization, we are a Republic of Endo, a Province of China and also a puppet of the US. Workers are suffering from precarious jobs and low pay while the domestic economy is threatened by influx of Chinese capital and debt,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

PM is participating in the coalition United Workers SONA which will mobilize on Monday afternoon. The United Workers SONA coalition will then join up with other broad networks for the United People’s SONA.

“We believe that the reason President Duterte has not signed the SOT bill up to now is the strong lobby of employers for a veto. Should President Duterte surrender to the demand to veto the bill, then he reveals where he stands on the class war between the workers and capitalists on contractualization. A presidential veto will just be another betrayal of his promise to workers,” argued Magtubo.

He insisted that “Contrary to the wild claim of employers that the security of tenure bill is superfluous because endo has already been ended with DO 173 and EO 51, numerous loopholes allow the proliferation of contractual workers. The security of tenure bill will not end endo and will not stop contractualization because it is a weak version of the proposed law.”

In the counter-SONA rally, aside from pushing for an end to endo, workers are also clamoring for a reform of the wage-setting mechanism.

“We welcome the announcement by the Department of Labor and Employment that it will undertake a study on the current wage system in response to the calls to abolish the regional wage boards. Although we fear that powerful lobby by employers will once more scuttle any real reform,” asserted Magtubo.

PM is batting for the abolition of the regional wage boards and its replacement by a National Wage Commission which will fix a national minimum wage based on the cost of living. The group is also calling for the provision of a minimum basic income for workers in the SME sector which is unregulated and exempted from the minimum wage setting.

July 19, 2019

Press Release: End to endo, wage boards top labor partylist demands on Bonifacio Day

The abolition of contractualization and the regional wage boards were the top demands of the labor partylist Partido Manggagawa (PM) in nationwide rallies to commemorate Bonifacio Day. Some one thousand workers, urban poor, community youth and college students joined the mobilization in Manila. Coordinated rallies were also held today in Cebu, Bacolod and Davao.

“If Gat Andres Bonifacio were alive today, he would no doubt be leading another revolution to defend workers against the onslaught of endo by greedy capitalists, the cheapening of wages by the regional wage boards and the loss of our sovereignty to both the US and China. To symbolize the fight, instead of ripping Spanish cedulas, Bonifacio would be tearing up the endo contracts and the wage orders,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

PM together with allied groups Kilos Maralita, Umalab Ka, National Federation of Labor, Aguila (Association of General Unions, Institutions and Labor Associations) and PUP student group SPEAK assembled its contingents at Blumentritt, Espana early this morning. By 9:00 am, they moved a short distance to Welcome Rotonda to merge with other groups under the labor coalition Nagkaisa. Around 10:00 am, the several-thousand strong rally marched down Espana towards Morayta. There Nagkaisa held a program to issue its “workers’ challenge” to candidates in the coming elections.

PM is calling on Congress to pass the pending Security of Tenure bill that provides for strict regulation against contractualization and aims to make regular jobs the norm in employment relations. Likewise, the group is demanding for a reform of the wage setting mechanism and a return to a national minimum wage instead of the present regional wages.

Magtubo asserted that “Duterte promised to abolish endo the moment he becomes president. In a dialogue with labor groups, he also said that ‘provincial rates’ must be eliminated. Three years into his term, these remain broken promises. Instead of focusing on people’s concerns like wages, jobs and inflation, his administration aims to capture the Senate so it can railroad the shift to federalism through charter change even as it continues the bloody war on drugs and prepares to start a new, bloodier war against communist rebels.”

PM is participating in the coming elections for the partylist. The demand to end endo and abolish the regional wage boards are part of its platform of “Apat na Dapat.” The other demands include provision of decent housing for the poor, subsidy for sustainable agriculture by farmers, and social services for women and youth.

November 30, 2018

Partido Manggagawa supports P500 subsidy, bats for national minimum wage

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) declared its support for the proposal by the group ALU-TUCP for a P500 monthly food subsidy for minimum wage earners even as it called for the abolition of the regional wage boards.

Last Friday, the labor coalition Nagkaisa and the KMU held a joint protest at the Department of Labor and Employment main office in Intramuros in criticism of the recent P25 wage increase.

“The P500 subsidy is good as a short term relief but for a long-term alternative, we need to reform the wage fixing mechanism and replace wage regionalization with a national minimum wage indexed to inflation and productivity,” asserted Rene Magtubo, national chair of PM.

He stated that “As we call on organized labor to unite for the P500 subsidy, we further appeal for unity around the demand to abolish the regional wage boards.”

The P500 subsidy proposal came in the wake of the recent P25 wage increase for NCR workers. The salary hike was slammed by labor groups as too small to compensate for the erosion in workers’ wages due to inflation. PM’s cost of living estimate for a family of five in Metro Manila is around P1,300 a day.

PM argues that government and employers representatives have majority control of regional wage boards and they connive to fix wage cheap on the argument of capacity to pay. Magtubo explained that “Labor Sec. Bello himself asserted that pay increases are tempered by the criteria of capacity to pay. Why is it that when employers buy the labor power of workers, their capacity to pay is paramount but when workers buy their daily necessities, their capacity to buy is not considered? This is the double standard of capitalism!”

The group’s criticism is that there are about a hundred minimum wages in the country that are different not just across regions but even across cities and municipalities in industrial areas as Calabarzon and Central Luzon. “Wage differentials vary greatly. The NCR rate of P537 is almost double the ARMM rate of P280. Yet the cost of living is not significantly different across regions, cities and municipalities. What kind of system is this!,” Magtubo claimed. ###

Photos of the DOLE protest against the P25 wage hike can be accessed at PM’s FB page.

November 12, 2018

P25 is alms not relief to overworked yet underpaid NCR workers

DOLE Sec Bello announced this morning the P25 wage hike earlier leaked by ECOP as if it was a moment of glory for him. P25 is just alms not relief to overworked yet underpaid Filipino workers. P25 cannot compensate for the 7% runaway inflation in Metro Manila and real wage stagnation despite 50% productivity growth from 2001 to 2016.

The whole controversy about the NCR wage hike just proves that no matter how hard workers make a devotion to Santo Rodrigo, they will not be blessed with a sufficient wage order. The problem lies in the system of wage regionalization in which wage boards base their wage hikes on the capacity to pay of employers and not on the cost of living of workers.

P25 is short by 30% to make up for the P35.84 erosion in wages due to the 7% inflation in the NCR recorded in August this year. Partido Manggagawa’s own cost of living estimate for a family of five in Metro Manila is around P1,300 a day, more than double the new minimum wage of P537.

Even if the NCR wage board had ordered a P35.84 wage hike, it still means real wages are just frozen. But workers should partake of a just share in the fruits of production as mandated by the Constitution

Government and employers representatives control the majority of the regional wage boards and they connive to fix wage cheap on the argument of capacity to pay. Sec. Bello himself asserted today in the presscon, in response to questions, that wage hikes are tempered by the criteria of capacity to pay.

Why is it that when employers buy the labor power of workers, their capacity to pay is paramount but when workers buy their daily necessities, their capacity to buy is not considered? This is the double standard of capitalism!

This latest episode is a wakeup call for organized labor to unite around the call to abolish the wage boards and enact a new system of wage fixing that will implement the Constitutional mandate of a living wage for workers. The labor movement has shown the capacity to unite around the demand to end endo. It is high time to rally round the call for end wage regionalization.

November 5, 2018

Duterte asked to endorse national minimum wage

 

Amidst the controversy over the wage hike for Metro Manila workers, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on President Rodrigo Duterte to endorse a national minimum wage instead of the present system of regional salaries.

“In a dialogue with labor groups in 2017, the President denounced what he called ‘provincial wages’ and expressed preference for a nationwide minimum wage. Given the delay in the NCR wage order and further with inflation untamed, now is the time for President Duterte to turn mere words into decisive action,” asserted Wilson Fortaleza, PM spokesperson.

There is yet no wage order for workers in the NCR as the P25 hike was called unofficial by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello. The Employers Confederation of the Philippines said last Tuesday that the NCR wage board had agreed on a P25 salary increase for minimum wage earners.

The alleged P25 wage increase has already been slammed by labor groups as too small to compensate for the erosion in workers’ wages due to inflation. PM’s cost of living estimate for a family of five in Metro Manila is around P1,300 a day.

“We urge President Duterte to abolish regional wages as he had promised and endorse a national minimum wage based on a living wage. Since the President expressed disgust at provincial wages, he apparently knows that the policy of wage regionalization started in 1989 has led to the cheapening of labor. An evaluation of the policy performance of wage regionalization will show that it has consistently resulted in measly salary hikes that are below inflation rates and disregards economic growth” Fortaleza insisted.

He explained that “There are about a hundred minimum wages in the country that are different not just across regions but even across cities and municipalities in industrial areas as Calabarzon and Central Luzon. Wage differentials vary greatly. For example, the difference between the NCR rate of P512 and the ARMM rate of P280 is a whopping 45%. Yet the cost of living is not significantly different across regions, cities and municipalities. What kind of system is this!”

“A national minimum wage should not just be indexed to inflation but also to productivity. Real wages have not risen from 2001 to 2016 even as labor productivity has grown by 50% in that period. In other words, the pie has become bigger but workers have not received crumbs even. Instead employers have greedily taken all the increase in size of the pie. Workers have been denied their fair share in the fruits of production,” Fortaleza ended.

November 3, 2018

P1,300 daily, P39K monthly needed to live decently—labor group study

A cost of living survey by the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) found that a family of five in the National Capital Region needs P1,300 daily or P39,000 monthly to live decently as of May 2018.

PM’s cost of living estimate is in stark contrast to the “hypothetical scenario” of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of a P10,000 monthly budget for a family of five.

“NEDA’s assessment is utterly erroneous. Just to cite one flaw. NEDA alleges that P959 out of the P10,000 is allotted for rice. Such a budget can only buy 30 kilos of P32 NFA rice—which is hard to find in the market—for one month or 1 kilo per day to be shared by 5 people. This translates to just one cup (200g) per person per day or around 250 calories, far below the recommended daily calorie intake of 1,500-2,000. P10,000 means malnourished and stunted workers and children,” explained Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

In PM’s own study, P3,150 monthly are needed to buy daily 2.5 kilos of the cheapest commercial rice at P42. Of the P39,000 monthly budget, 44% is earmarked for food and 56% for non-food items. Utilities like electricity, water and cooking gas make up 8%, house rent 15%, transportation expenses 11% and education needs 13% of the total budget.

“Our cost of living study is in fact an underestimation as it does not provide for leisure and recreation, savings or social security which should comprise 10% as a standard or for a house help which is a necessity if the government insists that both parents must work to sustain the family,” Magtubo averred.

PM is calling for a substantial wage hike and national minimum wage as promised by President Rodrigo Duterte. The group is supporting pending bills calling for a national minimum wage of P750 to P800.

Magtubo insisted that “The focus now is on worsening inflation that has eroded workers nominal wages. But hardly noticed is growing inequality due to the stagnation of real wages while productivity is booming. From 2001 to 2016, labor productivity grew by at least 50 percent, yet the real wages did not grow at all. Workers have been denied their fair share in the fruits of production.” 

Cost of Living Estimate

for a family of 5 living in NCR (May 2018)

Items	Volume/Cost	Daily Cost	Monthly Cost	% share
Food & Beverages			17,446.50	44.33
rice	2.5kg/day x P42 (sinandomeng)	105	3,150
ulam & gulay	3 servings (P82/pax/day x 5 pax)	410	12,300
seasoning	2kg onion (P97/kilo), 1kg garlic (P110/kilo)	10.13	304
fruits	4kg  x P60 (banana)	8	240
cooking oil	2 liters x P106	7.07	212
sugar	2kg x P56.25	3.75	112.5
soy sauce	1 liter P42	1.40	42
vinegar	1 liter P34.50	1.15	34.50
fish sauce	1 liter P53	1.77	53
coffee	2 (100g) x P76.25	5.08	152.50
milk	3 (900g) x P282	28.20	846
Utilities			3,358	8.53
electricity	200kwh (P10.90/kwh)	72.67	2,180
water	20cu.m. (P23.95/cu.m)	15.97	479
LPG	1 cylinder	23.30	699
House rental			6,000	15.25
	1 month rent	200	6,000
Toiletries			1,027.05	2.61
soap	6 bars (135g) x P40.50	8.10	243
shampoo	2 (180ml ) x P101.90	6.79	203.80
sanitary napkins	3 (packs of 8) x P42.75	4.28	128.25
toothpaste	2 (150ml) x P77.50	5.17	155
laundry soap	24 (70g pack) x P5.50	4.40	132
deodorant	2 (40ml) x P82.50	5.50	165
Education			5,170.83	13.14
miscellaneous fees	3 pax x P750 = P2250/schoolyear	6.25	187.50
school allowance	100 x 2 pax & 50 x 1 pax/day x 22 days x 10 months = P55,000/yr	152.78	4583.33
theatre tickets	1 ticket x P200/grading x 4 periods x 3 pax/schoolyear = P2,400	6.67	200
school projects	2 subjects x P100 /grading x 4 periods x 3 pax = P2,400/schoolyear	6.67	200
Health			450	1.14
ascorbic acid	5 (1 tablet ascorbic acid generic) X P3	15	450
Communications			1,500	3.81
phone or cellphone	at least P25/day load x 2	50	1,500
Transpo expenses			4,400	11.18
fare to and from work	2 pax x P100/day x 22days	146.67	4,400
Total		P1,311.77	P39,352.38

NOTES:

1.     Family is composed of a couple with 3 children. Children are all in public schools (2 HS level and 1 elementary), school supplies, work books expenses, internet use for research are not yet included

2.     Basket does not include bill for a house-help

3.     Utilities such as electricity and water vary from time to time depending on consumption

4.     No item for leisure/recreation

5.     Health budget does not include medical expenses

6.     No budget allotted for savings.  NWPC basket provides 10% of the total

June 7, 2018